Destined for Oblivion

As Nature Intended

By: Mario Stinger

Narrated by: Travis Hatcher

Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Deep in the Norwegian Sea, an ancient underwater complex was discovered by a pair of scuba divers, Eirik and Jack. Once inside, they learned that the technology present within was too sophisticated and advanced to have been created in our time. A new United Nations organization was formed to determine its origin and potential.

A diverse collection of highly specialized personnel - among them, Steven Mitchell, a computer hacker, and Chrissy O'Donnell, an engineer - are recruited to investigate the facility and crack the secret of the highly restrictive access control security system.

The group's exploration yielded unimaginable wonders, but they have also unwittingly opened Pandora's Box, as unscrupulous individuals and entities have taken an interest in the potential offered by the structure. Unavoidably, a struggle between moralities versus profits and science versus religion ensues, threatening every member of the project and the world from discovering the greatest truth about our existence.

©2020 Mario Stinger (P)2022 Mario Stinger

Amazing narrator, and unique story.

A friend of mine from overseas actually gave me a copy of this book since he knows I’m into stuff that deal with religion and science. I skimmed a bit and saw that the premise was rather cliché: A place of unfathomable value was discovered by a small group of people, further studies or explorations were performed, and the powers-that-be decided to take control of the entire operation for purposes that are known only to them. The story deals with high science and instruments that can virtually change the way we live our lives. There are segments that discuss various disputes between religious and secular concepts particularly in terms of ethics and scientific issues, though these conflicts are pretty much commonplace even in real life. There are fewer action scenes and more talk overall, probably because this is the first of many in this series.

I’m not usually drawn towards discovery and conspiracy plots, but one of the things that made me start all over and kept me reading was the idea that the characters that were subjected to this sort of ordeal were visibly flawed in their own way and their individual nature added flavor to the interactions and various arguments in the story. Steven is a flagrantly contumacious individual, but he is also an opportunist; he has the intellectual capacity and propensity to find loopholes around just about any problem that comes his way, granted that he has the benefit of time to do so. Chrissy, his love interest, is the complete opposite in terms of behavior—she is more reserved and cordial, but she’s at par with him in terms of problem-solving skills.

Of all the concepts presented in the book, I like the one about biological immortality the most. It brings forth a lot of possibilities and, considering that certain people in the story are actually able to manipulate certain gadgets to achieve that status, it makes for a pretty awesome sequel. I'm starting to wonder what would happen if someone like Gordon Gekko or a diabolical Hannibal Lecter-like character would gain access to that kind of equipment. I can’t wait for the next one.

Nice cliffhanger by the way.